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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23502010">A Snowy Secret in a Sanctuary of Solitude</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaimi_Kreissel/pseuds/Kaimi_Kreissel'>Kaimi_Kreissel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tales Secret Santa One-shots [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Tales of Xillia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:01:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,510</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23502010</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaimi_Kreissel/pseuds/Kaimi_Kreissel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Gaius and the Chimeriad set out on a mission to the mountains north of Kanbalar, following rumors of suspicious activities. Intending to learn more, the group decides to go undercover in the local landmark, a tea house.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gaius/Wingul (Tales of Xillia)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tales Secret Santa One-shots [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2100180</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Snowy Secret in a Sanctuary of Solitude</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/YumeHanabi/gifts">YumeHanabi</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was done as my Tales Secret Santa 2019 assignment for Yume.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ghaze. A little mountain village located in the frigid mountains north of Kanbalar.</p><p>Hearing the reports that mysterious group of people started to appear in the settlement of Ghaze, Gaius decided to investigate the matter himself. He feared that Rashugal planned to strike a sneak attack on Auj Oule’s capital and take control of Rieze Maxia. His strategist Wingul advised against solitary action of the king, reasoning that such trivial matters are better left to his subordinates. However his words fell flat on Gaius’s ears, and the king decided to bring the Chimeriad along with him, much to Agria’s disdain.</p><p>Two days passed since the five of them arrived and started collecting information about potential Rashugal spies. With how much was happening around the local landmark, a tea house, Gaius decided that they should focus their efforts there. Much to her dismay, Agria ended up as kitchen help there, with Wingul and Presa serving tables. Gaius and Jiao took a different approach: the king was posing as a fiancée of Jiao’s inexistent daughter, trying his best to win his approval. With her expertise in espionage, the fox-like woman managed to discover an interesting bit of information: on every Phaerohsday there’s supposedly a meeting of “important figures” in an old cellar of an abandoned temple on the village outskirts.</p><p>“An excellent job, Presa,” Gaius praised her once she told the group after they regrouped in an inn room, far away from the tea house.</p><p>“Trust the ‘ace spy’ to discover village secrets,” Agria complained. “All there ever was in kitchen was just <em>stupid</em> dishwashing!”</p><p>“You should be proud of your work. The dishes here were the cleanest I have ever seen in both Rieze Maxia <em>and Rashugal</em>,” Wingul teased to which the young girl hissed at him.</p><p>“Agreed, many clients were surprised with how brightly the tea cups shone,” Presa continued the teasing.</p><p>“That was the only meaningful thing to do in there anyway,” Agria scoffed.</p><p>“Now, now,” Jiao chipped in. “Diverting our efforts did prove useful.”</p><p>“Good for you, big man,” Agria was still angry, although that was an understatement.</p><p>“When we weren’t occupying the tea house we did explore the village and got a good grasp of the area,” Gaius said. “There’s indeed some abandoned temple further north, but we didn’t see anyone suspicious around there.”</p><p>“Should I ‘take a day off’ tomorrow and investigate the area further?” Wingul asked.</p><p>“Thinking about ‘skipping work’?” Agria stuck out her tongue at him.</p><p>Despite the hardships she went through, the crimes she committed, Agria still managed a childish act once in a while. While most of the Chimeriad, Gaius included, seemed not to mind an occasional show of immaturity, Wingul was “serious business” through and through. If not for their allegiance to the king, he’d cross swords against her and win. Or at least he thought he could win.</p><p>“Good idea, Wingul. Permission granted,” Gaius said.</p><p>“Why is <em>he</em> allowed to do some <em>fun</em> things and <em>I</em> am stuck with chores!?” Agria burst.</p><p>“You should sometimes take time and enjoy simple things in life,” Jiao said. “With our line of work you might die with regret of not knowing any ‘fun’.”</p><p>“Think I’m gonna trip over some rock on a mountain and fall to my death or something?” the hot-headed girl asked. “Not gonna happen.”</p><p>“Careful there, Agria,” Presa cautioned her. “The brightest flames go out the quickest.”</p><p>Agria snorted at that. What are the chances of <em>that</em> ever happening? If that ever happened, she’d be a contender for the “Worst Death of the Century Award”.</p><p>“This is turning bothersome. I’m retiring for the night. Rest well, everyone.”</p><p>Wingul has grown tired of Agria’s antics. Her power was rather immense for someone her age, but had the maturity of a starfish. The only reason why Gaius let her into the group was because she murdered her stepbrothers in revenge for the years of suffering she had at their hands. At least <em>he</em> was an expert strategist.</p><p>With Wingul retiring, Gaius allowed others to do as they pleased for the rest of the evening.</p><p>The next day Presa and Agria were getting ready for their undercover work at the tea house, while Wingul was preparing for his abandoned temple observation. Gaius decided to train in his room, while Jiao said he had some business in the village.</p><p>At first the day seemed be a perfect one, a shining sun reflecting in the snow, children playing games, older people enjoying a light stroll. However as the day grew closer to noon, the sky started to get rapidly covered by heavy, white clouds. That didn’t bode well.</p><p>Jiao had soon returned when it started snowing, with a package in hand, but Gaius didn’t pay it any mind.</p><p>“A heavy blizzard is approaching,” he announced to the king. “Has Wingul returned yet?”</p><p>“Wingul is an experienced man, he knows when to return,” Gaius replied.</p><p>Seconds passed, then minutes, and finally hours. Or at least it seemed that way to Gaius who was usually not worried for Wingul. Presa has sent word with her masterful spirit artes that she and Agria were forced to stay at the tea house due to weather conditions.</p><p>It was getting even colder than usual. Even though he was used to chilling temperatures of Mon Highlands, Gaius was starting to feel the cold. There’s no way Wingul could survive in these conditions, even with this “booster” he had implanted himself with. Worried, Gaius finally decided to leave to search.</p><p>“Shall I accompany you?” silent Jiao broke the silence, seeing the king’s preparations as his liege  grabbed a fur coat from the wardrobe.</p><p>“No. There needs to be someone here in case he returns before I find him.”</p><p>“Understood.”</p><p>“The snowstorm should quiet down by the morning. In case I’m not back by tomorrow noon, consider asking Presa to use her human tracking spirit artes.”</p><p>“It will be as you say. Just one thing,” Jiao said, catching Gaius’s attention.</p><p>“Make it brief.”</p><p>“There’s a monster around these parts that travels under the cover of night and snow. People say it’s a ferocious beast.”</p><p>With these final words from Jiao, Gaius departed for his search of Wingul.</p><p>The events to come would make it one <em>hell</em> of a night to remember for both Gaius and Wingul…</p>
<hr/><p>Considering that Wingul went to the village outskirts to check on the abandoned temple, Gaius decided to go there first.</p><p>Easier said than done.</p><p>The snowstorm had grown so violent and cold that it became nearly impossible to navigate through the piles of snow. Despite his arduous training Gaius was having problems with walking across the snow. His cries for Wingul were nothing against the howling chuckles of the freezing storm.</p><p>The wind grew only stronger and more violent. Even the snowflakes seemed to get way bigger than they were supposed to be. The situation was starting to look grim: no sight of the abandoned temple, no sign of Wingul, storm worsening… It couldn’t get any worse than that, could it?</p><p>And as if summoned, a strange shining glyph that resembled a snowflake appeared ways ahead of him. He could see it clearly despite the horrifying weather. From the glyph a large arm shot up, or rather what <em>resembled</em> an arm. A truly abominable creature <em>shot</em> up into the sky and landed lifelessly on the ground. It resembled a very malformed gentleman monster covered in dark blue crystals that shone with violet gleam. The creature then stood up and Gaius noticed its disgusting face: one eye<em> much </em>bigger than the other one with a small black pupil and a mouth with jagged crystal fangs.</p><p>Taken aback by the creature’s appearance, Gaius hadn’t noticed that the snowstorm around them just… froze in place. The monster grabbed a few large snowflakes and threw them at the man. However the creature was not as good as a fighter as it probably thought it was and Gaius cut all the snowflakes with precise blade slashes. The man then charged at his opponent, assaulting it with a flurry of cuts, while the creature retaliated with wild arm swings and an occasional kick between every few strikes.</p><p>The exchange continued for a while but with no clear victor. The creature grew even madder and slammed its right fist into the ground, conjuring a rushing vein of crystal spikes charging at Gaius. The man stepped to a side and swung his blade upward, sending a shockwave at his foe. Despite its wiggliness the creature was unable to evade the attack and was briefly knocked out.</p><p>“Rising Phoenix!”</p><p>Gaius heard from a distance a familiar voice and saw a man coated in the image of a blazing phoenix descending on his opponent. As soon as the new arrival came with their attack, the impact of the arte caused the creature to cry in pain in a screeching voice.</p><p>“Wingul!” Gaius called out.</p><p>“Apologies for not reporting in sooner,” Wingul replied.</p><p>A quick look at Wingul and his torn clothes told Gaius all he needed to know. However this was not a great situation to continue their conversation. Gaius simply nodded and Wingul just grunted with acknowledgment.</p><p>They immediately threw themselves at their foe. First Gaius performed a few slashes, then pushed the creature towards Wingul who did the same. The motion repeated for a few moments and they decided to finish the creature off.</p><p>Wingul started with Sonic Blast, slashing the enemy then jumping back and thrusting his weapon at his foe, sending it at Gaius. The kind then followed with Celestial Rupture’s upward thrust that blasted the creature into the air.</p><p>“Rising Vortex!”</p><p>Their joined battle cry echoed through the air as both Gaius and Wingul launched themselves into the air performed a rising continuous spin as they soared into the sky back to back. Their efforts conjured a fierce whirlwind that cut the creature into pieces, ending its life.</p><p>“Wingul!”</p><p>Gaius’s companion then fell on the ground, heavily breathing. The king quickly kneeled before him and started to use some minor healing artes.</p><p>“S-Stop…” Wingul muttered under his breath.</p><p>“I will do no such thing,” Gaius firmly replied.</p><p>He quickly looked around and noticed that the snowstorm had died, yet the massive snow dunes remained. Carrying a wounded Wingul after such a difficult fight would be a foolish idea. Then as if a glimmer of hope in the darkness of night, he saw the abandoned temple in the distance.</p><p>Despite the building being suspected of having suspicious activities being enacted in it, Gaius decided that he’d defeat all the adversaries if he had to, just to keep Wingul safe. Gaius then lifted Wingul, bridal style, and carried him into the abandoned temple.</p><p>Once they came inside Gaius noticed that benches were repurposed into beds, covered in dry grass and blankets made of sacks. It was evident that someone uses the place, or used, he wasn’t certain. He put Wingul down on what appeared to be the most dry grass-covered bed and pulled a blanket over him.</p><p>Torn between making a little patrol to see if it was safe to stay in the temple or to remain at Wingul’s side, the usually decisive Gaius had an unusually hard choice to make. However his beaten up companion had woken up.</p><p>“W-Why?” were his only words. He briefly looked at Gaius’s face, but then turned away, as if shame were to eat him alive.</p><p>Gaius looked at him with stern eyes. He knew Wingul considered himself inferior to him despite his best attempts to change his opinion.</p><p>“You’re a valuable ally to me,” Gaius replied. “You’re the best strategist there is in Rieze Maxia. Without you the fights with Rashugal would be much harder.”</p><p>“Th-There’s… no excuse… for me…”</p><p>“Tell me what happened.”</p><p>“I was watching… the temple… from a safe distance… Then… when the storm started to… intensify that strange creature appeared…” Wingul paused. Gaius noticed that his companion was acting stranger that usual. Perhaps there was some history between him and the monster, but he didn’t want to pry. Everyone has their own secrets. “And since then it was a game of… a cat and a mouse…”</p><p>Wingul then shivered and sneezed. Not thinking much about it, Gaius took off his coat and covered his companion with it.</p><p>“This way you won’t lose much warmth.”</p><p>“I don’t deserve this!” Wingul yelled.</p><p>Gaius breathed deeply. Wingul thought himself unworthy of anything and at times like these it would get the better of him. The strategist and the world considered him a person with a cold, calculating heart, but the truth was different. Wingul wore his heart on his sleeves, plain as a day and Gaius had seen that so many times he had lost count.</p><p>Words seemed to fall flat on Wingul’s ears. A change in approach should be considered. And Gaius, despite his reluctance to do it, knew exactly what would help in this situation.</p><p>Gaius slightly lifted Wingul and much to his surprise embraced him. The injured man initially tried to break away from the hug, but Gaius’s embrace just tightened.</p><p>“I care for you, <em>Li Ying</em>,” the king whispered into his ears. Despite his attempts, a tear escaped from one of Wingul’s eyes. “Your life means a lot to me.”</p><p>“G-Ga— <em>Erston</em>…”</p><p>Being called by his first name by none other than the king of Auj Oule himself was such an… abstract concept for Wingul. It was such a personal experience that he felt wasn’t ever meant for him.</p><p>Then without warning Gaius embraced his companion. The strategist hesitated at first, but returned the motion.</p><p>
  <em>Thank you.</em>
</p><p>It was just a thought. Wingul didn’t have enough courage to say it out loud. Yet, he was grateful that Gaius has broken from his usual conduct to provide him with this fleeting moment of affection. Before he knew, Wingul’s grip on Gaius had tightened. He felt immense form from his body, despite his own layering of clothes (Gaius was so used to the cold he was wearing rather light clothing).</p>
<hr/><p>When they woke, it was already morning. Searing sunbeams were breaking into the temple ruins through the cracks in the buildings. Wingul has covered his eyes from the blinding light, but managed to twist his head a little to notice Gaius lying right next to him. When did he go shirtless? He noticed that at some point Gaius must have taken off his coat and shirt to cover him.”</p><p>Another quick glimpse: carefully carved muscles on his stomach and arms and quite the pecs to boot. He quickly shook his head: what was he thinking? He was above such carnal needs and yet there he was: ogling at His Majesty like a teenage girl.</p><p>Unaware, they were being watched from the distance by Presa, who had quickly found them through her spirit messengers. There was a gentle smile on her face, one that told she was happy for Wingul. If Agria ever learnt of this, poor Wingul would never hear the end of it.</p>
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